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Nate Roten / James / James 3:1–12
Main Idea
Mastering our speech is essential for living out our faith.
Save for Christ himself, King Solomon was the wisest man to walk this earth. He drew deep insights from all aspects of nature and the human body. He speaks of the effect the eyes, ears, and hands have on the person… as well as the tongue. In fact, 18 verses in Proverbs talk about the tongue, and 18 verses address the speech from one’s mouth. In his divinely-gifted wisdom, he knew this little part of the human body wielded power and impacted one’s future. Here are a few examples:
Proverbs 18:21 CSB
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:20 CSB
From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips.
Proverbs 15:2 CSB
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.
Proverbs 21:23 CSB
The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Likewise, James has deep insights he wants to share with the infant church that will prove crucial wisdom for those who want to be doers of the word and are ready to demonstrate their faith through their work.
Passage
James 3:1–12 CSB
Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body. Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.
I – Warning
Not many should become teachers because of the stricter judgment. James includes himself in the teachers being warned. Teachers are important in the church today but were even more crucial during this delicate time in the life of the infant church when the scriptures had not yet been written down. Teachers relayed gospel truths before the gospels were written down. Because there was no inspired document to refer to, their incorrect teaching could be disastrous.
Everyone stumbles, but the mature stumble less in their speech because of self-control. They are more able to keep their words and body in alignment with God’s holy standards.
The body can mean the individual or the church body.
James is teeing up the conversation he started in Chapter 1.
James 1:19 CSB
My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
James 1:26 CSB
If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.
Last week, we discussed how talk is cheap. Saying that you are a Christian or know certain doctrines is not proof that you have a living faith. Your work must reinforce your words. You must be a doer.
Now, James will fill our minds with a cluster of helpful metaphors designed to teach us just how powerful and dangerous this little instrument called the tongue really is.
II – The Tongue is A Disproportionate Controller
James elaborates using standard modes of transportation. Today, we might point to a cargo plane, a steam-engine train, or a Ferrari, but in the first century, horses and ships were used, and this would have been widely understood by his audience.
• A bit in a horse’s mouth. According to Energy Education, a horse is powerful… 15x more powerful than an average human in terms of working capacity (or wattage of output). They are beautiful, intelligent, elegant, and versatile. These attributes enable them to plow fields, transport humans, or change the tide of war. Yet, they are commanded with a thin, 5-inch piece of metal.
• The rudder of a ship. A rudder is a tiny piece of the overall ship. Cargo ships have rudders about 0.015 (or 1.5%)of the size of the vessel. The Titanic was nearly that. The hull area was 28,870 sq. ft. The rudder was 455 sq. ft., which was 0.014 (or 1.4%). This one component that is less than 2% of its overall mass is what directs the other 98%.
• The controller has a controller. Both instruments allow the rider/captain to guide the larger transporter (horse or ship). The horse’s rider holds the reins. The ship’s captain has the wheel.
• It boasts great things because it wields such power and directs the destinations of every living person.
Interestingly, teachers are not warned about having sound theology. The warning for teachers specifically, and all of us generally, is to recognize that the tongue (or, more specifically, what you say) controls the rest of you. Knowledge is intake, which will affect the heart and mind, which, as we were reminded in terms of temptation, is the seedbed of our actions. So we won’t make the mistake of disregarding knowledge, but James wants us to understand that we will be controlled by what we say. The tongue is like a rudder, and if we are not controlling it, it controls us and will set the course of our lives.
Isn’t this worthy of a deeper study? I don’t know about you, but I want to learn how to operate the captain’s wheel and steer the course as God wills.
But that will be very difficult because James has an unpleasant truth for us concerning our ability to control this small part of our body.
III – The Controller is Uncontrollable
James has a lot to say about the nature of our tongue. His first point was to help us recognize its power, especially considering its disproportionally small size. Now, he shifts his focus to its effect. Unlike many of the proverbs, he wants to underscore the destructive and fallen nature of this tiny controller using four different illustrations:
1. A spark
2. A stain
3. A world
4. An untamed animal
A spark to forest fire
In the early 2000s, a campfire in San Diego County ignited a wildfire that devastated over one thousand acres, destroying homes and taking lives. This tragedy reminded us that a simple spark can lead to uncontrolled flames. This sort of thing can happen quickly. All it takes is for one cinder to pop out of the campfire onto a dry leaf or twig, and before you know it, the fire ignites and spreads, and you are helpless to stop its raging, destructive force.
This is what your tongue is capable of. This small controller is also a devastator. First, we learn that it has the power to direct our path. Now, we discover that it sets the entire course of our lives on fire. Many of you may know the story of Hernán Cortés and how he burned his ships after landing on the shores of Mexico in 1519. Cortés and his small army faced daunting odds as they prepared to advance inland to confront the mighty Aztec Empire. Some of his men were anxious and spoke of returning to Cuba. Recognizing that any sign of retreat could doom his mission, Cortés ordered the ships to be scuttled or burned. By doing so, he removed any option of return and forced his men to commit fully to the conquest. This bold action symbolized his determination and bound the men to their mission with no way to turn back, cementing their unity and resolve. James’s point is equally destructive and permanent. However, the result isn’t the conquest and possession of a new land. It is the burning down of one’s very life. The spark of the tongue can leave the person surrounded by the forest fire with no means of escape. These flames can cut off every promising and profitable way forward if we leave our speech uncontrolled.
And, if this wasn’t enough of a grim reality, what’s worse is that the origin of the destructive fire is hell itself. Fire is a standard depiction of hell’s conditions. Gehenna, derived from the Hebrew gehinnom or “valley of Hinnom,” was initially a valley south of Jerusalem associated with child sacrifices to foreign gods. By New Testament times, it had become a symbol of hell, representing a place of final punishment for the wicked dead. Due to its history as a dumping ground where fires burned continually to consume waste and the dead, Gehenna came to embody the concept of eternal fiery judgment.
When this happens, and the course of your life is set on fire, there is only one origin: Satan, the ultimate foe of the believer. That’s not to say we have an excuse and can claim that “the devil made me do it.” The point is that the controller has a controller. In a fallen world with fallen faculties, we are constantly being influenced by the enemy.
A stain
Just as the tongue directs the path of the whole body and sets that path ablaze, it is also a defilement. You would never wear a work shirt with a giant coffee stain right in the middle. You would look dirty and unprofessional. Likewise, the tongue can defile you… but not just your speech. In the end, it will defile your entire person… your whole body will be stained and unpresentable.
A world of unrighteousness
The tongue is not where you would expect to find an entire world (cosmos in Greek).
In the 1800s, a man with a passionate mind developed a system of study to analyze the material world. He became famous for his theory of evolution, which was based on natural selection and the common ancestry of all living things (not from Adam and Eve, but from primordial goop). That man, of course, is Charles Darwin. One of the reasons for this deduction is based on his view of the cell. Back then, they didn’t have the technology we have today, so his base assumption was that the cell is made up of goop (or protoplasm).
Now, because we can peer into the world of the microscopic, we know that the cell is an entire world unto itself. Within a single human cell resides a whole industrial complex, complete with a headquarters (nucleus), power plant (mitochondria), assembly lines (ribosomes), transportation systems (cytoskeletons), and recycling centers (lysosomes). It is fascinating to see how all these microscopic biological machines and systems work harmoniously, making human life possible. How true it is that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
How much more, then, can we understand how the tongue can be an entire ecosystem? James will go on to discuss the dualistic nature of the tongue, but for now, he wants us to understand the vile nature of this world. Instead of a bustling industrial complex that generates energy and sustains life, the tongue is a world of vileness and unrighteousness. Perhaps he had these words of Jesus on his mind:
Matthew 15:17–20 CSB
“Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
Untamed
Finally, we settle in on the most sobering part of this newfound reality: This tiny instrument of destruction and defilement cannot be tamed.
Animal Kingdom. Humans have been able to tame and train nearly every type of animal. Elephants can balance on balls in the circus. Dogs can sniff out explosives or detect when their master is about to have a medical emergency. Monkeys can ride tiny motorcycles, and horses can enter dance competitions. Our ability to conquer and exert our will over God’s creatures is truly a marvel. This reality, however, only serves to show just how powerful and defiant the tongue truly is.
Restless evil. Not only is the tongue uncontrollable and untamable, but it is always seeking the next opportunity. It must have its way and doesn’t fully rest. It is much like its influencer, the devil, who roams about like a roaring lion, seeking who it may devour next. It must find its next mark.
Full of poison. Let’s return to our escalating campfire illustration. At first, it was tranquil, as all campfires should be. But suddenly, a spark flew out at an odd angle, and the wind carried it to a dry leaf pile, where it quickly ignited and grew. Blazing trees now surround you with no pathway for escape. If that was not horrifying enough, you realize the surrounding brush and foliage are toxic. There is no means of escape, and now, the very air you breathe fills your lungs with deadly poison, and the toxic cloud continually pursues you.
Let’s pause momentarily because this is a lot to take in. The tongue has the power to direct the course of my life. That is good to know. However, I admit hearing how awful it can be is difficult. It is a restless evil, a world of unrighteousness, full of poison, set my future ablaze by the fires of hell. Sheesh! And, if that weren’t bad enough, I can’t stop it from doing those things because it is untamable!
That is a lot to swallow, but let’s be sure to keep this in context. We know the tongue isn’t utterly evil because King Solomon said good things about it. The power of LIFE AND DEATH is in the tongue. The wise use their lips to make knowledge attractive. It’s not that James fails to recognize these bits of wisdom. He wants to show us the inevitable end of the tongue’s destructive path… the path that leads to death. This discourse comes on the heels of his passionate command to live out your faith. So, as you go and interact with the world to demonstrate your living faith, your tongue will be increasingly involved. Be aware of your tongue’s power and tendencies. Like a campfire, it can get out of control and deadly faster than you could imagine.
But before he moves on, he has one more thing to say about the matter.
IV – The Controller’s Purpose
If you remember, James points out the double-minded nature of a person who doubts. There is also a duality to our tongue that we should be aware of as we live out our faith, and it is described as what is produced by springs and trees.
• spring cannot produce fresh and saltwater.
• A fig tree cannot produce figs and olives, nor can a grapevine produce grapes and figs.
The ridiculousness of a freshwater spring producing fresh, clean water and salt water. It should only produce one type. It is the same with the fig tree. A fruit tree only makes one type of fruit… that which it was designed to produce. The parallel is how we use our tongues to bless the Lord and curse His image-bearers. This is a reality we recognize and live with, but we should also see how contrary it is to how we have been designed. We were designed to produce righteousness.
The key to this entire section is a call to recognize our original design and avoid the destruction and havoc our speech can cause.
As you prove the reality of your faith through works, you will use your tongue. And every time you open your mouth to speak, you will find yourself at a crossroads. Will your words give life or bring death? Will your words take your life down the road of blessings or destruction? You and I are designed to be freshwater springs that nourish the spirit and invigorate the soul. We are fig trees that produce attractive and delicious fruit.
However, one issue remains to be resolved, and that is where I want to end today. How do I use my tongue for blessings if I can’t control it?
Takeaways
In short, you can’t… not on your own anyway.
Remember, your controller has a controller. James gave the identity of one of them: Satan… or at least the influence of the powers of darkness. But, there is a second option… The Spirit of the Living God. Or, to put it differently, your tongue can be directed by Hell or the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 at Pentecost, and the New Testament Church was born. How, may I ask, did the Spirit descend on them? In fiery tongues!
We cannot tame or control it, which is bad news. But God can, which is amazing news!
Your tongue is a fiery controller regardless, but it can either be under the influence of an unholy destructive fire that consumes or by God, The Holy Consuming Fire, who gives life. If you think about it, our speech reflects our spiritual condition.
By the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we can have the self-control necessary to wield our words as true image-bearers, bringing light and life to those around us and setting a course for our lives that leads to still waters and green pastures.
Questions to Consider
- Reflecting on the metaphor of the tongue as a rudder, how have your words directed your life’s path this past month?
- Can you share an example where your speech positively influenced a situation in your life?
- What scriptures can we meditate on to help reinforce the importance of mastering our speech?
- How can you practice speaking blessings over your family and friends this week?
- How can you use the understanding of the tongue’s power to engage in more meaningful conversations?